Pablo Heras-Casado returns to Munich to complete his Schumann cycle with the Münchner Philharmoniker at the Philharmonie im Gasteig. Last month, he conducted Schumann’s First Symphony, known as his “Spring” symphony, and his Third Symphony, the “Rhenish” symphony. On April 25, 26 & 27, he conducts the ensemble in Schumann’s final two symphonies: his Symphony No. 2 in C major, and his Symphony No. 4 in D minor, the final version of 1853.

Schumann’s Second Symphony pays homage to Bach and Beethoven, but also uncovers the personal strife the composer was dealing with at the time, being the first effects of the syphilitic infection that would eventually kill him. In the work, composed between 1844-1845, we see the beginning of his original approach to symphonic writing, which reaches fruition in his final Symphony No. 4.

Schumann’s Fourth Symphony was, in fact, the second symphony he completed, but he returned to heavily revise it in 1853 after the success of his “Rhenish” Symphony. The final version of the Fourth Symphony is the most innovative and influential of all his works because of its extraordinary structure in which all four movements are thoroughly integrated.